


Dancing With Ghosts

by wyr_d



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dark, Detectives, M/M, Magic, Murder Mystery, Paranormal AU, Police, Thriller, detective hux, hux is a grumpy detective who solves paranormal like mysteries, kylo is a murder monster who is disguised as a detective, mitaka is a sassy officer who helps hux, monster kylo, sassy mitaka, there is a dark forest, there uh may be some death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-05 08:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6697384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyr_d/pseuds/wyr_d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Locals regarded the forest with distaste and fear. It was a dangerous place that had swallowed people whole or spat them out broken and deranged. Many stories were told of the forest and many rumors surrounded the constantly foggy place, but none of the snatched whispers and vague tales were in any way good. They spoke of demons and ghosts and myths and tragedies. They spoke of a king of the trees who wore a cloak black as night with eyes that burned red in the darkness. There had been many accounts of sightings of the demon prince who lurked between the trees.</i>
</p><p>When Hux is pulled to a small town to solve a string of murder mysteries that are steeped in odd happenings he doesn't expect to enjoy himself. And much to his expectations he doesn't. </p><p>Rather he finds the case most perplexingly illogical, meets a man named Ben Solo, and has a run in with a demon. </p><p>[[ look at the tags they may help ]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

I

_I don't want this dream to end,_

_I won't try to comprehend,_

_Can hear when we both descend,_

_Dancing with your ghost again._

 

The forest was silent. Too silent.

A deathly silence permeated the air and mingled with the scents of mildew and rotting wood. Light cut through the trees like a knife as it zigzagged across the ground and scuttled out of sight under the thick foliage of the pine trees. The ground was consumed by the fog as it stretched its pale fingers across the forest floor – curling around tree trunks and rocks as it fought the plant life for dominance of the forest. Jagged rocks rose from the ground like monoliths, creating chasms and miniature mountains between the trees. Anyone who was familiar with the forest knew that the swamps were nearby – hidden in the fog, but close.

Locals regarded the forest with distaste and fear. It was a dangerous place that had swallowed people whole or spat them out broken and deranged. Many stories were told of the forest and many rumors surrounded the constantly foggy place, but none of the snatched whispers and vague tales were in any way good. They spoke of demons and ghosts and myths and tragedies. They spoke of a king of the trees who wore a cloak black as night with eyes that burned red in the darkness. There had been many accounts of sightings of the demon prince who lurked between the trees.

Some said he wore feathers of a raven and sat perched in the trees waiting for his prey to appear so he could rip them to shreds like the animal he was. Others said he wore a crown of bones on his head and a robe of moss and thorns on his shoulders and would kill you daintily like a prince. But all agreed he was a symbol of misfortune and mark of your own doom. The few who had viewed him had returned broken and lost; babbling of a demon’s son in the flesh of a human and a bizarre mark shaped like the sun.

The dead were found later; cold, lifeless bodies floating in the swamp with a strange inverted sun mark on their forehead, with eyes gouged out and hearts missing. They were the lucky ones. The others were found mangled and deformed between tree trunks or crushed under rocks. The same symbol carved grotesquely into their flesh.

It was hard to distinguish the lies from the truth, but everyone was convinced that this demon of the forest existed. The deaths were no lie, irrefutable evidence that there was something lurking in these woods, but what truly lived between the silent pines was a mystery to all. And it was because of this that Brakin Hux was currently standing in the bleak forest clutching his trench coat tighter around him as he grimaced at the murky ground below him.

Brakin Hux was a man known for many things, but was most famous for his successes at breaking the secrets of paranormal cases. Brakin Hux was a paranormalist in the oddest of senses. He did not believe in monsters, rather quite the contrary; Brakin Hux was known to many as a myth killer. He would smash myths with his impeccable logic and destroy ghost stories with his vast knowledge; uncovering the truths behind mysterious deaths. Hux worked alongside various police forces when they were stumped by deaths that had no reasonable explanation behind them and was famous for cracking the code behind cases steeped in myths if you will.

The deaths surrounding this forest had finally become priority to the local police and due to their lack of skill they ended up calling in Hux. He had been wrenched from his current case in downtown New York and thrust into this dark and dank forest as he tried to uncover the true reason behind the bizarre deaths that had been plaguing this area for the past fifteen years. If Hux was honest, he was more than a little bitter about this current assignment. If there was one thing Hux hated the most it was being in woodland areas and the fact that this forest was also home to a swamp certainly did not make his mood any better.

Currently, Hux was struggling through the fog and underbrush as he tried to avoid the sodden areas of the forest floor. He had set up a small camp a few metres away and was trying to scout out the area to see if he could find any traces of the killer who had recently been in the area. A corpse of a young man had been found two days ago only a few steps away from where Hux was standing and Hux was determined to find something, _anything_ , that pointed him in the direction of the murderer he was hunting. He tried to convince himself he was so determined because he was excited about the case, but deep down he knew his motivation was mostly derived from getting out of this damned forest.

The average person would have been startled at the thought of camping anywhere near where someone had been murdered recently, but Hux was not your average person. He could care less if someone had been killed in the general vicinity of where he was planning on sleeping. It was important he was in the area where someone had died for the next few days to track clues – it was part of his process. On numerous occasions he had done things of this sort and because of it he had solved many cases that had been dubbed unsolvable, so no one really questioned his tactics anymore. He assumed many believed he had some sort of sick death wish, but he felt no need to explain his meticulous case solving process with the unrefined beings of the world.

The walkie-talkie on his hip crackled to life, startling Hux out of his musings and he frantically fumbled at his hip to slide the communication device out of its holder.

“Hux here.” He snapped as soon as he had pressed the button on the side that activated the device.

“Hello General Mythkiller, Mitaka here.”

Hux repressed the urge to roll his eyes at the nickname. He had been dubbed as General Mythkiller by many people due to his rigid personality and odd abilities and, despite his hatred for nicknames, Hux had accepted it in the end. Frankly he did not mind being given the title of general; it made him feel powerful, like his skills had some worth.

“What is it Mitaka?” Hux sneered into the walkie-talkie.

“Just checking in to make sure you are alive.”

“I would have contacted you if there were any problems.”

“You said that last time, and if I remember correctly you definitely did not contact us before you were captured by the Daylight killer.”

Hux scoffed as he recalled the memories of the last case he had solved.

“Me getting captured was crucial to his capture; if I remember correctly.”

“Yes it was, but only because I had placed a tracker on your coat just in case of emergencies.” Mitaka stated. Hux could practically hear Mitaka tapping his chin looking smug as he proved Hux wrong.

“Whatever, I’ll keep you posted.” Hux growled and closed the channel – no longer wanting to hear Mitaka speak.

Despite Mitaka’s ability to get on Hux’s nerves, the smaller man made a very reliable aide and had been working alongside Hux since the day he stepped into the detective industry. While Mitaka did not help Hux solve cases, he was the cop that always arrested the killers Hux uncovered and bailed him out if he was ever caught in some sordid state. And Hux had been in various sordid states. Every once and a while a killer he was hunting got brave and would attempt to capture or harm Hux. Many of their attempts failed and ended with them meeting their demise, but on the off chance that one succeeded Mitaka was there to bail Hux out.

Hux shivered slightly as he pulled his coat closer to him. Dusk’s tendrils of light were weaving their way around the trees as the sun sunk below the edges of the mountains – dousing the world into darkness. The nights in the forest were cold and damp, and succeeded in chilling Hux to the bone. Despite not being short, Hux was rather slight and was not known for having an abundance of muscle. While he was strong, he was still wiry and suffered easily under the onslaught of cold air that now surrounded him.

He decided he was going to get no searching done in this faint light so back to his ragged tent he went. Switching on the battery powered lamp he had bought earlier this week, Hux pulled his out the prepackaged dinner he had removed from his meal stores before they had been hoisted into the trees. Hux knew bears liked to frequent this forest and, while he was not outdoorsy man, he knew the standard protocol that would lend to his safety from ravenous animals.

Hux ate his meal in silence, listening to the wind rustle the leaves outside of his tent. The forest was always in a state of a hush. No birds sang in the trees and the hum of the insect population was never heard. The forest was all deathly silence and coiling fog. The only noise that was ever heard was the hissing of the river that was nearby and the whispers of wings as black birds whizzed through the trees.

While he did not wish to admit it, Hux found this forest eerie. He was not a man who had visited numerous forests, but he did know they were usually dyed a bright green and the light bounced between the trees in an ethereal sort of magnificence. This forest seemed to be devoid of color, like a picture that lacked any saturation, and the sunlight seemed to cling to the edges of the trees – never fully entering the forest, but rather watching from a distance as if the light itself was afraid to enter. He certainly felt unsettled when he stood beside the towering pines. He felt as if he too would be dyed the same morose shade of grey that this forest was if he stayed here long enough.

As Hux finished the last of his meal, he returned his thoughts back to where they should be: on his assignment. So far he had found a few small things that he could work with. Small splatters of blood had clung to some of the surrounding foliage hinting to the fact the body had indeed been moved to this location as he had first suspected. Why though? What was to gain from moving the body here? Hux was aware the deceased had been murdered in the forest, that much was obvious, but why would the murderer take the time to move the body?

This little clearing was a popular spot for visitors of the town and it was visited frequently. Well, Hux figured it would no longer be visited at all ever since a body had shown up here two days ago. Either way the clearing was known as place that would grant luck or blessings and it had been known to the town as the only place the demon of the forest would not touch. As it seemed, that notion was now null. Apparently, the fact that a body showed up in the most, quote on quote, “safe” place of the town was what raised the priority of the case. Hux could only wrinkle his nose at the sentiments of people and how foolish they were. They were okay with death as long as it did not desecrate their so called safe place – foolish indeed.

Anyhow, back to the point, obviously the killer had some purpose to placing the body here and it had probably been to rattle the people of the town. They wanted to draw attention to themselves, but why? If they had done nothing, they would have not re-entered the radar of the local police. As he had been informed upon briefing, the murderer of these woods had not been active in a good five years, but what had pulled them from their so called retirement? Maybe it was this killer’s intent to call attention to their work.

Hux had no solid theories yet and he was finding himself frustrated with his lack of progress. He had only been here for one day, but usually he would already have a solid theory to work from by now. With a sigh, he rubbed his tired eyes and deftly got ready to sleep. Usually, he would find himself struggling to sleep in the great outdoors as there was always that one root out there that tried to spite his back, but thanks to his jetlag he found himself drifting off to sleep rather quickly. As he slowly slipped away into his own exhaustion, Hux felt a vague sense of being watched tickle the corners of his mind before he fell away in his consciousness – dead to the world.

\---[ x ]---

The darkness around him ebbed and flowed as it encircled him. Hux found it mildly odd that he was observing his own body from afar, but somehow he could not act on his own feeling of unease and for the most part did not wish too. He felt tired, too tired to lift a finger and discover the reason behind these perplexities. So instead he watched himself sleep surrounded by the darkness. At first all was still, but then the darkness started to take corporeal form as numerous figures rose from the dark mist. They all bore resemblance to animals. The figures were all cloaked in black hides of beasts and they moved forward with an oily sort of grace.

They all sat around Hux’s dozing physical form, murmuring words against the wispy silence of the void they were currently inhabiting. Now Hux felt fear. He tried to move back towards his body, but discovered he could do nothing but watch helplessly as the creatures started to stroke his skin. He felt the brushes of their touch against his ghostly form despite the fact their hands were only touching his physical body and he shivered, feeling a chill coil in his chest. One of the beings, the one wearing the skin of a wolf, suddenly reached towards Hux’s physical body and took his neck in its hands. Hux felt the beast squeeze slightly and he felt himself cough and choke against the pressure, but he watched as his physical body did not even twitch. Their words quickly became loud in his ears.

“Human in our woods.”

“Who is he?”

“How dare he enter our woods!”

Their words were disjointed and sounded like the scratching of nails against a chalkboard; grating against Hux’s ears in the most painful fashion. They became screeches against Hux’s consciousness as the pressure on his neck increased and his breath and vision slowly started failing him. He could feel them pulling at his skin and slicing small cuts in his exposed arms as their nails dragged across his exposed flesh. The chill that he had felt earlier started to overtake his body once again, but this time he let it dance through him as he gave in to the sensation. He was going to die here.

But then it all stopped and Hux was left reeling. The chill still permeated his body, but the whispers and the touches of death were removed from his body and his ghostly form was left gasping as his physical body continued to lay motionless. His vision returned to him as the little sparks of light that had filled his eyes pulled away and he searched for the cause of the release. One lone figure stood beside Hux’s corporeal form now, the others had retreated back in the shadows of the darkness and he could see them lurking about behind the thin veil of black.

The being that stood beside Hux’s physical form looked different than the others. He was taller for one, but what truly set him apart from the beings Hux had seen before was that he looked human. Long black hair was draped over his shoulders and a crown of antlers and bones rested atop his head – a flash of pale white against the black. He wore an impossibly black cloak that was covered in layers upon layers of feathers and said cloak clung to his bare torso in an effortless way. The lower half of his body was covered in black fabric matching the color of the cloak and Hux noted the man’s feet were bare, revealing claw like toes that looked like a cross between an animal’s paw and a human’s foot.

His head was bowed as he watched Hux’s physical body lay in its eternal slumber. Hux wondered if he would ever move, and after a few minutes of watching the being stare, Hux started to wonder if this new man was a reaper or ghost and was here to stand and watch Hux until his life ran out. But the being did move eventually. One large hand with nails that looked positively deadly caressed Hux’s hair and Hux’s ghostly form shivered from the touch when his physical body did not. A ferocious smile crossed the being’s features, revealing pointed teeth that could probably rip out a man’s throat with ease.

“What have we here?” The being asked, his voice low and alluring and once again totally different than the beasts that had visited Hux previously. His hand moved from Hux’s hair and down to his cheek; caressing it with a softness Hux did not think a being that terrifying in appearance could possess. “A red haired human male in my forest.”

The being let out a low hum that Hux could practically feel. For the second time since he had met this beast, he shivered. Hux could only watch as the being dragged its claw like hands lower and settled them around his neck, tickling the exposed skin of Hux’s throat with his gentle touch. The dread he had felt earlier returned as Hux waited for this fearsome creature to squeeze the last dredges of life out of his physical body. But rather then squeezing, the black cloaked creature just stroked Hux’s skin softly before moving his hands downwards yet again; this time resting them on Hux’s chest. The beast then decided to stare at Hux’s face and something like a tremor rocketed through Hux as he could feel the intensity of the gaze that was being handed to him.

“He’s the one.” The creature breathed as if mesmerized by Hux’s appearance. Hux watched from afar as the black cloaked beast’s lips curled into a softer smile and traced gentle patterns across Hux’s chest. This whole exchange seemed strangely intimate and Hux was not sure if he was repulsed by it or drawn to it. He was aware of something warm burning in his stomach that ravaged the chill that had originally been possessing his body and his mind was telling him that burning sensation was something akin to desire. The being studied Hux’s features for a few seconds more until his expression turned slightly deadly; pale lips twisting into a sharpened smile. “He’s mine.”

Then the creature surged forward and pressed a harsh kiss to Hux’s neck. What felt like a thousand emotions surged through Hux as he watched this being press his lips to his corporeal form. The strongest emotion he felt was rage. How dare this being claim him like he was some sort of prize; and while he could not lift a finger against him no less. He would rather have been killed by those other beasts than be linked to this being he did not even know. But under all that anger he felt the inklings of his desire – his base emotions betraying his logical sense.

A burning pain surged forth from where the beast had placed its lips against Hux’s skin and a gasp was dragged out of Hux’s ghostly lips. Since he was in some sort of suspended state, Hux figured the noise he made would only fall upon his ears, but he was proved wrong. The creature pulled away from his excited attack on Hux’s neck to fix Hux’s ghostly form with a burning stare as if he could actually see the ghostly Hux that was watching his own body from afar. Eyes black as the night stared up at where Hux’s consciousness was hovering and watching this display. Hux could not think as he was pinned by that dark stare and instead he tried to focus on keeping his breathing even. A scar became apparent on the creature’s pale face when he looked at Hux directly and Hux marvelled at how the scar was wrought across the being’s features in the most delicate fashion.

A twisted smile wrenched itself across the being’s pale lips, warping the scar, as he stared and deadly white teeth twinkled at Hux. Turning his head gracefully, the long haired creature stared at Hux’s physical body once again and stroked his cheek thoughtfully; a playful smirk marring the beast’s features. The being tilted his head slightly so he could catch Hux’s ghostly form’s gaze, something red like fire was blazing in the creature’s eyes as he held Hux’s attention. The creature gripped Hux’s physical form’s chin in his fingers and turned to fully look at him where he hovered. The air around Hux seemed to be shrieking as he held the being’s stare and the creature’s mouth tipped open to speak just as the noise in Hux’s ears reached their crescendo.

“Mine.”  He growled.

And then everything exploded.

\---[ x ]---

Hux awoke with a gasp and his hands went immediately to his neck as he fought off the panic that had welled up in his bones. That dream had felt so real that his whole body seemed to be coiled tightly as if expecting the same scene to greet him upon awakening. The ghostly grip of someone’s hands on Hux’s neck had his fingers grazing across his larynx as he half expected the sight of that bizarre figure who had harassed him in his dreams to be standing over him with his hands resting on his neck and cheek.

He lay back on his sleeping roll for a good five minutes before he deemed himself worthy to rise. The panic had seeped out of him now, leaving him feeling exhausted as if he hadn’t slept a wink. He raked a hand through his probably quite dishevelled ginger hair and tried to shake off the sickening feeling of having someone else’s hands on him. While he knew the dream wasn’t real, Hux felt as if someone had been touching his skin while he slept and when he spied a small note situated by his drinking mug he wondered if his subconscious emotion was indeed correct.

With calm hands, he lifted the note to examine it. He had not brought a note of this type with him, heck he did not even own stationary this elegant and if he did it would not have been brought with him into this godforsaken woods. He flipped the note over in his hands to admire the cursive writing that took up most of the backside of the paper.

‘ _Dear H,_

_Welcome to my woods. How daring of you to stay here for the night. I assure you, your bravery has not been overlooked. Sorry I could not greet you personally, but I am sure you will enjoy your time spent here nonetheless._

_Good luck trying to find me,_

_K_ ’

Hux sneered at the paper. 

This K fellow was obviously the murderer and he had the audacity to defile Hux’s tent while he slept. To sneak past his defences and taunt him in such a way. Hux felt the edges of his vision tint red slightly as rage started to consume him. Oh, this killer had made his biggest mistake in trying to humiliate Hux like this; K was surely going to regret his decision when Hux had him on his knees before him. He licked his lips with the anticipation of making this murderer crawl and beg for forgiveness when he caught him.

Quickly and quietly, Hux got to changing and as he pulled his famous trench coat around his shoulders he allowed himself to smirk.

Brakin Hux was on the case and he was going to put whoever this K person was into their place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the chapters are pretty much done, but I shall post them slowly rather than all at once.
> 
> I like the idea of Mitaka having a bit more of a spine and dorky paranormal things. Please accept this dorky au of my own creation.


	2. II

II

_Oh, won't you stay for awhile?_

_I'll take you on a ride if you can keep a secret._

_Oh, won't you stay for awhile?_

_Show me darkness, baby, show me deepness._

 

“You seem to be in a bitterer mood than usual.” Mitaka stated while he took a small sip of the coffee from the mug that was perched between his fingers.

His eyes were twinkling with something like mirth as he examined Hux across the flaming red and grease laden diner table. Hux just sent him a sharp glare that shut him up rather quickly, but beneath the surface Hux could see the thinly veiled mirth at Hux’s rather rumpled appearance. While Hux had preened himself before arriving back into town, it was rather hard to get oneself back to immaculate condition using only the toiletries brought into the woods and with no mirror to view himself in Hux was at a loss of how he truly did look. He figured he looked like death.

Hux was not exactly sure how Mitaka had convinced him to come back into town, but rather than throw his annoyance on the officer in front of him he decided glaring into his (very bad tasting) coffee would be the better option. He was still wearing his trench coat and it was dampened a little by the rain that was lightly falling outside the large window that had the diner’s name smeared across it in big golden letters. Maz’s Old-fashioned Diner the words flaunted out into the quiet streets.

It was 5 a.m., only one hour after Hux had awoken from his dream and only a half an hour before he had turned on his walkie-talkie on once again and had been berated by Mitaka for turning it off in the first place. It was after Hux had snapped, annoyed at the officer’s pointless rebukes, that Mitaka had offered to buy Hux a coffee in a voice tinted with worry. Hux figured he had snapped rather quickly this time around and Mitaka could sense the palpable frustration seeping off Hux in waves.

Hux sighed before resigning himself to another sip of the dreadful coffee this open-all-hours diner served. It tasted as if the coffee had been strained through a wig and after glancing at the tall man with immense amounts of hair on him who worked at this time of day, Hux figured it might have been. Chewie, or whatever his name tag said, did not seem like the brightest of fellows and he had taken Hux and Mitaka’s orders by communicating only through grunts. Hux wondered if the hash browns and eggs he had ordered would be any better than the coffee. The burning smell that was wafting from the kitchen told him probably not.

“You said you had something to talk to me about?” Hux asked, remembering Mitaka mentioning over the walkie-talkie this morning that he had discovered something or someone useful to the case last night.

“Yes, I do, but presently I am more worried about your state of mind Hux.” Mitaka stated, his voice softer than it had been earlier.

Hux snorted and took another sip of the swill that had been marketed as coffee.

“My state of mind is just fine.” Hux responded, his words sharp.

“Uh huh, well you snapped at me rather vehemently this morning and even for you that was aggressive. The average time it takes you to get annoyed with my rebukes or quips is about forty five and a half seconds, but today you snapped back at me within fifteen point two seconds. Care to explain why?”

Hux gripped his coffee tighter. Damn Mitaka and his perceptivity. While Hux would admit one of the reasons he could tolerate the officer was because of his perceptivity and coherence to cold hard logic, it was in cases like these that those traits annoyed Hux. He wondered if he should tell Mitaka about the note in his tent or the weird dream. Weighing out his options mentally, Hux came to the conclusion he had to give the man something to get him off of his back and the note seemed like a better option.

“Well, this morning I woke up to this note in my tent.” Hux stated, meeting Mitaka’s eyes for a second before fishing the rumpled piece of paper out of his pocket.

It was slightly damp, but the writing had not smudged nor smeared and he handed it to the officer by sliding it across the table in his direction. The officer eyed it quietly before picking it up and looking it over. A wry smile danced in the corners of his lips as his eyes skimmed across the message that had been inscribed into the stationary.

“A very interesting character you are hunting this time around as it seems.” Mitaka stated after a beat of silence.

Hux scoffed.

“They are all interesting characters I would say, but this one certainly likes to flirt with their demise.”

“Quite right indeed. I guess whoever this killer is still doesn’t see you as much of a threat to his safety.” Mitaka stated, pushing the paper back to Hux’s side of the table. “Well this certainly would cause you frustration I am sure. But this still doesn’t explain as to why you were up this early. Usually you wake at sunrise, not an hour before it.”

Mitaka eyed Hux over the rim of his mug and Hux ground his teeth as he tried to come up with a plausible reason that would avoid the mention of his abysmal dream. He figured it would be hard to avoid it so he sucked in a breath and launched into explaining the reasons behind his early rise.

“I had a bad dream…” Hux toyed with the blemished cutlery that sat atop the table. “It was bizarre and I think the stupid superstitions that this town is steeped in caused it. Or maybe I just ate something funny.”

A slight twitch of Mitaka’s eyebrows was the only thing that gave away his curiosity.

“Do explain.”

Hux sighed, giving up his attempts at daintily skirting the topic.

“I had this weird dream, where this weird creature…tried to kill me I guess.” Hux stated, not really wanting to divulge the weird things that played across his mind. The creature’s odd possessiveness of him and the kissing of his neck seemed to draw across his waking thoughts at random. Frankly, he was still in the process of trying to untangle why such a subconscious thought would slip into his dreams. Dreams were just the subconscious acting out, or so he liked to say, but the last time Hux had dreamt of something romantic had been when he was a hormonal teenager who could not repress the urges.

“Hmm, trying to kill you, you say? Well maybe this was linked to the person who entered your tent.” Mitaka offered. “This K, whoever they are, could have tried to strangle you in your sleep.”

Hux nodded, pondering the possibility. But why would the killer strangle him without finishing off the job? Obviously Hux was after the murderer with the idea to put him behind bars so why _wouldn’t_ the killer end his life when he had the chance? It would deter any future investigators chasing after him. Hux shivered upon coming to the realization of how close to death he had truly been last night without even realizing it. Mitaka took his silence as agreement as he continued to talk.

“From here it doesn’t look like you have any marks on your neck that could hint to strangulation.” Mitaka stated, leaning forward slightly and squinting to try to get a better view of the skin on Hux’s neck.

Hux complied and moved the collar of his trench coat slightly as if to offer him a better view. The frown that danced across Mitaka’s face caused Hux to pause.

“What is it?” he asked and when Mitaka was silent Hux pressed further. “Mitaka tell me, what is it?”

The officer sighed and shook his head slightly.

“You have a tattoo.”

Something dropped in Hux’s stomach.

“A _tattoo_?”

“Yes, an inverted sun mark. Like the ones that are seen on the corpses.”

Hux did not wait to hear more before he was on his feet and practically running into the diner’s washroom to catch a glimpse of this tattoo Mitaka had mentioned. He paused in front of the mirror and frantically peeled back the collar of his trench coat to be greeted by the sight of a black inverted sun mark resting right above his collar bone. It was a drawn in a black ink that seemed to match that of the ink found on the note Hux had discovered in his tent this morning.

Hux scowled at the mark and wondered how the heck he had gained a tattoo overnight. No matter which way he cut it, this new development made no logical sense. He confirmed the tattoo was not temporary and was in fact permanent, smashing the small thread of logical thought that had twisted its way into his mind. How could he have gained a permanent tattoo overnight without waking up? He knew the act of getting a tattoo was not a painless process and it was also not a quick process either.

Gripping the edges of the sink, Hux stared at himself in the mirror. His usually immaculate ginger hair was falling loosely over his forehead and his usually immaculate suit was rumpled slightly from its time clustered in the corner of his tent. He looked exhausted despite his memory of sleeping through the night. Nothing was making logical sense anymore and he wondered if he was going slightly mad.

He had only spent one night in that blasted forest, he could not be going crazy yet.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and then readjusted his collar and fixed his hair. Once Hux deemed himself presentable he left the bathroom deftly. While his outward features were schooled into a neutral sort of calm expression, inwardly his mind was working at a mile a minute trying to rationalize the situation that was currently unfolding around him. Hux returned to the table that he and Mitaka occupied to find their food had arrived and with it a bizarre fellow who was currently stealing hash browns off of Hux’s abandoned plate.

“Excuse me, who are you?” Hux asked, his eyes narrowing at the black haired fellow who was munching on the little potato bites that the diner served as hash browns.

The man looked up from his thoughtful examination of Hux’s meal and fixed Hux with an expression that people would have called a “deer in the headlights” look. His face was marred with moles and had permanently boyish expression wrought across his features. Long, black hair curled around his head in a haphazard fashion and, while Hux usually found long hair on men warranting a haircut, this stranger wore the long hair well; it was fully of body and had a glossy sheen that caused it to faintly shimmer in the lowlight of the diner. While the man had the body of someone in their late twenties, he had a face of a boy in his late teens. Maybe it was the unguarded expression or the plush pink lips, but whatever it was had Hux thinking of a teenager rather than a man.

“Hux, meet Ben, Ben meet Hux.” Mitaka stated, watching the whole proceeding with thinly veiled amusement. With a gesture in Ben’s direction, Mitaka continued to speak. “Hux this is what I wanted to talk with you about.”

Hux’s eyes fell off of Ben’s startled expression and onto Mitaka instead.

“You wanted to talk with me about a man?” Hux asked Mitaka, his eyes flashing with unasked questions.

 _Is he a suspect?_ Hux’s eyes seemed to question and Mitaka shook his head faintly. Ah, that meant this boyish man was a source of information then; how lovely. Hux’s attention was fixed back on Ben when the man stood and offered a large hand out for Hux to take.

“Ben Solo, nice to meet you.” The tall man stated, his voice deep and rich, unlike his appearance.

Hux took the hand and nodded.

“Brakin Hux, likewise. Although stealing my breakfast probably wasn’t the best way to get on my good side.”

Ben sent Hux a wry smirk before stepping out of the way so Hux could return to his seat in the stiff, deep black booths that this diner sported. Ben chose to sit down beside Hux despite the annoyance that was rolling off of him in waves.

“Well it was just sitting there and I was hungry.” Ben responded, his voice light with some sort of joke Hux wasn’t privy to.

“Then order your own meal if you are hungry.” Hux replied, his words a bit harsher than intended.

Mitaka rolled his eyes and shot Ben a sympathizing look.

“Don’t worry, he’s just grumpy because he slept outside last night.”

Hux flashed Mitaka a dangerous glare, daring him to say any more than that, but the officer just smirked at Hux and fell silent – his eyes dancing with pleasure at riling him up.

“Anyhow, Ben and I met yesterday while I was doing some of that digging you required.” Mitaka stated for Hux’s benefit. “He has quite a bit of knowledge on the previous cases. Apparently he’s the local detective.”

“I see.” Hux stated, nodding slowly and taking a bite of his eggs and was surprised to find them edible.

“Yup, and then Mitaka mentioned he knew you – the guy who took over the case from me – and I figured I ought to introduce myself when I had the chance. I figured even though I had been bumped for not being capable enough I should at least introduce myself and see if I could be of use. Although I did not expect to be given the chance to meet you at five thirty in the morning.” Ben stated, nodding in Mitaka’s direction before setting his brown-eyed gaze on Hux.

“Well I keep weird hours.” Hux stated as haughtily as he could muster at five thirty in the morning. His shoulders slumped slightly when he remembered the reason he was here and was awake this early. “Either way, it’s nice to meet you and thanks for taking the time to show up at this hour, even though you did _steal_ my food.”

“I told him he could have some of your food.” Mitaka stated, before Ben could even move his mouth.

“And now why would you do that _Dopheld_?” Hux said, using Mitaka’s given name for emphasis as he took another bite of his eggs.

“Because, _Brakin_ , you never finish all of your food and the poor man was hungry.”

“And when do I never finish all of my food?”

“Just about every time you eat something. You always leave a little bit still on your plate.”

Hux fixed Mitaka with a glare while the officer just smirked at Hux before he took another sip of his coffee. Hux wondered how he could stomach the terrible drink. Ben letting out a low whistle broke their angered glaring match. Stealing another piece of potato off of Hux’s plate, the boyish man chewed thoughtfully before making use of the attention he had managed to acquire. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you two were dating or I would’ve been less casual with Hux here.”

Hux choked on the bite of egg he had just placed into his mouth and Mitaka almost spit his coffee across the table in his amusement. As Hux coughed and Mitaka started laughing uncontrollably, Ben could only look between the two with a confused expression creasing his brow.

“What?” Ben asked.

“We…aren’t…dating!” Hux hissed between his laboured coughs as he tried to regain his breath.

Mitaka was absolutely useless as he continued to shake with laughter. His face was pressed to the red tabletop as he tried to stifle the mirth that had sprung forth due to Ben’s rather innocent comment. Seeming to come back to himself, the officer pulled himself back up into seating position as he wiped the tears that creased the corners of his eyes. Hux just glared at him as his ability to speak without sounding scratchy came back to him.

“Oh, my apologies then.” Ben stated, his face tinting red with a slight embarrassed flush.

“It’s okay.” Hux said with a slight cough.

“Yes its fine, I would be lying if I said I haven’t gotten that before.” Mitaka stated.

Hux sighed remembering all the times people in the investigation bureau and the people on the police force had assumed Hux and Mitaka were a thing. By now people understood they were nothing more than good friends, but every once and a while there was the newbie member who assumed they were together. Usually people realized their mistake when they met Mitaka’s wife. Phasma worked on the police force just like Mitaka did, but she was not tasked with assisting Hux on his investigations so it was rare for him to see her unless his case brought him to where she was stationed in downtown New York.

“Anyhow, what information do you have regarding this case Mr. Solo?” Hux queried as he went back to eating his eggs.

Ben’s expression perked up at the mention of the case and he regarded Hux out of the corner of his eye as he slid the diner menu towards himself.

“Well, I have been collecting theories and things of the like for the past years I was put onto this case. So I have a patchwork of knowledge that you may find useful.” Ben sighed. “But this case is certainly not an easy one to crack, it’s just too...”

Ben trailed off as he tried to come up with the proper words.

“Illogical?” Hux offered before tasting the hash browns.

Ben was quiet for a moment before he nodded in agreement.

“Yes, illogical would be a good word for it.”

\---[ x ]---

“So far all I’ve been able to find was some blood splatters around certain bushes, but other than that I have found no promising evidence.” Hux stated as he gestured to the clearing he had camped in the night before.

Ben nodded thoughtfully as he regarded the crime scene. A section of the clearing was quartered off in a neat polygon by yellow police tape and Hux and Ben were currently standing behind those garish yellow lines. Hux was rather surprised when he hit it off with Ben during their rather early breakfast (despite the whole hash brown stealing incident) and, while Hux would not admit it, he was glad to have someone else around who he could bounce his theories off of.

Earlier this morning, Ben had showed Hux his carefully compartmentalized collection of information on this mysterious killer they were hunting and now, the binder that carried such information, was tucked under Ben’s left arm as the mid-afternoon sun danced around the trees – casting the dismal forest in small snippets of light. Hux marvelled at how fast the day had passed in Ben’s presence. The two of them had swapped what theories they had created with relative ease – an ease Hux was not used to in the slightest.

It had been many years since Hux had connected with people other than Mitaka or, Mitaka’s wife, Phasma. While he did have acquaintances in the investigation bureau, very few of them he could see actually spending time with outside of work. Many of the people Hux conversed with at work he would never be caught dead talking to outside of a workplace setting due to their unsuitable IQ levels. Hux demanded a sort of smarts in the people he spent his leisure time with or else he found the conversation lacking stimulus and he soon felt bored in their presence. Only a small handful of people he met had ever lived up to his illustrious standards and it seemed Ben was one of them.

Hux had quickly learned all that he could about Ben in their short amount of time spent together. He slipped in personal questions between conversations as to get a better grasp of this new man who had somehow managed to work well alongside of him. So far Hux was aware that Ben was four years younger than him and had dwelled in this town ever since he was a child. Ben’s mother had been a mayor of this town at one point and his father died ten years ago at the hands of this murderer they were currently hunting. Apparently, his father’s death was what drove Ben in the direction of murder investigation and he admitted to being miffed when his higher ups had removed the case from his hands and placed it in Hux’s instead.

It had been then that Hux had noticed the younger man had been analyzing him just as he had been analyzing Ben. Hux was analyzing Ben to see if he was a worthy aide and Ben was analyzing Hux to see if he was worthy of the case. Somehow that had made Hux feel more comfortable in this man’s presence. Under scrutiny Hux could find himself driven and he felt the raw need to prove to Ben he deserved this case.

“Hux? I found something over here you may want to see.” Ben stated, his voice cutting through Hux’s thoughts. As he came back to himself, Hux realized Ben had left the haphazard polygon the police had made with their yellow tape to perch himself over a collection of bushes Hux had examined the night before.

Hux calmly made his way in Ben’s direction, all the while brushing any small hints of dust or foliage that had dropped upon his trench coat since entering the forest.

“What is it Ben?” He asked, slightly offset by the worried expression creasing Ben’s brow. The younger man did not respond, but instead bit his lip and pointed to the bushes that were covered in gentle smatterings of blood. Hux frowned at the bushes confused by what he found. He had examined these bushes the night before and discovered nothing upon them and now there were telltale splotches of a coppery red hinting to dried blood. The only conclusion was—

“There has been another death.” Hux’s voice was cold and logical, but his blood was roaring with the thrill of the chase. Something had happened, something new and fresh, something he could easily trace. He glanced over at Ben who, in turn, glanced over at Hux. An almost unperceivable nod passed between the two of them before they were off, moving through the bushes and following the bloody trail that would surely lead them to another dead body.

The trail was easy to follow, unlike the other bloody trail Hux had found yesterday, as the rain had yet to erode away the dried blood. The red was startlingly colorful against the pale green of the woods so it was rather easy for them to follow the makeshift route through the daunting trees and wispy fog. When the sharp smell of rotting wood hit Hux’s nose he realized they had found themselves rather close to the swamps and the air became weighed down by the earthy smell the stagnant waters emitted. Hux hoped that the body had not been discarded in those vile waters as there was no way in hell he would wade out into those waters willingly.

The fog was thicker near the swampy areas and Hux found himself struggling to place the trail in the thick clouds of opaque condensation that coiled at his feet. When he halted to squint down at the concealed forest floor beneath him, Hux felt Ben pulling him back into action with promises that he knew where they were going slipping between his lips. Hux followed Ben willingly, trusting the man’s sense of direction as they forged a zigzag path through the underbrush and trees. It was not until they reached a small cluster of rocks did Ben pause.

“It’s up ahead, I know it.” Ben whispered and Hux knew exactly what he meant.

“You think the body is located up ahead?” Hux asked curiously.

Ben just nodded and shut his eyes, as if too worried to say more. With a sharp nod, Hux started making his way forward at a slower pace than their previous frantic speed walking through the foliage. Ben clustered behind Hux, his footfalls heavy against the dirt beneath their feet and his breath ghosting along the back of Hux’s neck. The black haired man was nervous, that much was obvious, but rather than commenting on it Hux kept is mouth in its usual hard line as they moved closer to the center of the towering rock cluster.

The tall, moss covered rocks made a sort of gorge and they were currently standing inside of it – silent rocks towering over them. Just as Ben predicted, a body lay in the immediate center of the gathering of rock. The fog coiled around it and was warped by its presence – twisting and writhing around the disturbance to its usual path across the forest floor. Hux moved forward slowly, Ben following behind him, his blood singing in his ears as he inched closer and closer to another piece in this elaborate puzzle.

As he moved closer, Hux noticed the body was laying on its back and was arranged like one that would be found in a coffin. Hands clasped against its chest, eyes seemingly closed – it was almost serene. Hux could not help but wonder about this murderer, K, what possessed them to arrange their kill in such a way? From all the reports he had read, the dead bodies found by the police had been left in a haphazard disarray or mangled beyond recognition. But this one, this one, seemed to be placed with meticulous care – in the same way one would arrange cutlery or flowers this killer had arranged their most recent kill.

Finally, when they were practically standing right over the body, Hux feel his stomach do an odd sort of flip flop. He glanced at the face of the body and felt his heart freeze. Every breath he took, every beat of his heart, every flutter of his eyelashes, they all passed by in slow motion as his eyes roved over the body laid out before him. He barely registered he had sunk to his knees until the soft ground of the forest floor started digging into his trousers.

“T-this cannot be.” Hux heard himself utter, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper, but did not really connect that he had said such words. His soul felt detached from his body, just as it had been during his dream, and now he could only try to process what he was seeing. His whole world was warping out of focus, as if the lens he was viewing the world through had cracked and shifted beyond repair. This could _not_ be happening.

“Not liking what you are seeing Hux?”

A voice steeped in honey, but dripping with death spoke up behind him and Hux felt his blood run cold. He slowly craned his head to the left to catch a glimpse of what expected to be the demon from his dreams last night, but was surprised to find Ben strutting circles around him and the body like a predator. A dark smile was twisted across the man’s face as he continued to prowl and Hux watched him out of the corners of his eyes.

He could not process this many things at once. What lay before him baffled him and struck him to the core and what was now circling him was a man made of lies that apparently had been deceiving Hux all this time. Ben was the murderer. How convenient. Hux could not find it in himself to move, his whole body was shaking and he knew if he tried to stand he would inevitably stumble or fall. So instead he let Ben prowl and mustered what strength he had and injected it into his voice.

“This isn’t happening.” Hux stated firmly. “This cannot be--”

Ben stopped beside him.

“Oh but Hux, it _is_ happening.” Ben stated, his voice like velvet.

Hux turned his head away to avoid looking at the man towering above him and tried to quell the shaking in his hands. He did not want to look at the corpse in front of him nor the man who he had thought he trusted. Hell, he had wanted to work alongside him! This forest must have warped Hux’s logical brain as he had somehow managed to miss the deceit that had laid right before him.

Ben tutted and a pale hand reached for Hux’s chin, forcing him to turn at look up at him. Hux set an angered glare on Ben but did not fight the hand that was holding his gaze in place. Ben smiled a wicked smile down upon Hux before his face started to shift. Hux watched on with a grim sort of horror and curiosity dancing through his veins; it was as if a mask was being peeled away to reveal what truly lurked underneath the boyish face.

The air around Ben seemed to morph and quiver as the guise fell away to reveal the scarred man from Hux’s dreams. Ben’s medium length black hair was replaced by even longer black tresses that sported haphazardly placed braids with feathers and odd glowing beads woven in between them. His irises shifted from honey brown to a deep almost black color that swallowed his pupil’s whole. And while moles still peppered his skin, he was marred by the deadly scar that bisected the right side of his face that rather than making him look deadly made him look like a scorned warrior prince – something ethereal and raw.

Hux watched him, transfixed, for a couple of seconds before his voice came back to him.

“You are him aren’t you? You are K, the killer.” Hux all but spat in the face of this odd being that was haunting him so fervently. He was pleased to find his strength was returning. Ben, or K or whatever this being was, just chuckled; throwing his head back fluidly to bark out a laugh.

“Yes, I am this so called K you are hunting. I go by Kylo Ren, and I am not only the murderer you seek, but the ruler of these woods as well.” A wry smirk touched the creature’s, _Kylo Ren’s,_ features as he returned his attention on Hux.

“Ruler of these woods?” Hux scoffed at the thought, a ginger eyebrow cocking upwards slightly in mocking. The fingers on Hux’s chin tightened slightly, not liking the tone Hux’s voice had taken obviously, but the twisted smile that was wrought across Kylo’s features did not slip.

“Yes ruler of these woods, the demon of the forest as the locals like to call me. I am the so called ‘superstition’ you were trying so hard to stamp out, but alas you can never ruin me as I am not fake unlike all those other legends you’ve crushed before.” The hand that was on Hux’s chin moved, releasing Hux from its grip but not from his body. Kylo’s fingers trailed downwards along his throat to finally rest just under his collar – right upon the place where Mitaka had discovered Hux’s tattoo. Kylo traced the tattoo softly and smirked down at Hux. “All that dwells in these woods belong to me and as do you.”

Hux narrowed his eyes at Kylo and finally found his strength to stand. He pulled upwards and Kylo’s hand fell away as he did so. He was not that much shorter than Kylo and he drew himself up as much as possible as he levelled a deadly glare on this demon of the forest.

“I am not yours.” Hux hissed. “I belong to no one.”

“This mark proves you wrong.” With a wave of his hand, the trench coat collar Hux usually had flipped up flattened to reveal the black mark Kylo had been tracing only a few moments prior.

“That mark means nothing to me.”

“To you it means nothing, but to the trees it does.”

“I don’t care what it means to the damned trees! I am no one’s man.”

“There is nothing you can do Hux, you are mine.” The words were deep and husky and rocked Hux to his core, but he clamped down on those emotions and focused on his frustration. It was better than focusing on the horrific amount of dread and confusion he felt.

A silence descended between them as Hux found his mouth going dry. He could not process this.

“I’ll kill you.” Hux whispered, his voice harsh yet broken all at once. The demon chuckled.

“How can you kill me,” Kylo stated, his eyes flicking to look at the corpse that still lay on the foggy ground beside where they were standing. Hux did not have to follow Kylo’s eyes to know what Kylo was seeing. Pale skin marred by almost invisible freckles, slight frame draped in a familiar trench coat and suit, hair a shock of bright orange. “When you are already dead?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Bet you didn't see that coming.


	3. III

III

_When we've fallen and our paths have crossed,_

_Our time will slowly drift away,_

_When it's over and we stand alone,_

_The spirits softly wisp away,_

_But now the stars have spoken,_

_And there's nothing left that we can do._

_“He is dead isn’t he?” The voices asked with cold dispassion._

_Hux struggled, fought, shook, against the bindings that were holding him down – chaining him like a captive – but he could not move. His consciousness was throwing itself against the walls of his head trying to prove he was indeed awake, but not even his most powerful thoughts could pull his body into action. The voices were moving about around him, like a funeral procession, but he could see none of the faces behind the words as his eyes were sealed shut; he was locked in blackness._

_“Such a pity. He died so young.”_

_“It is his fault for taunting the forest though.”_

_A low noise of dissatisfaction escaped from one of the voices and Hux could only imagine them shaking their head in disapproval._

_“They did warn him.”_

_More disapproving noises._

_“Such a shame. Such a shame…”_

_His mind was roaring. Failure, failure, failure. It reverberated around his head – branding him. A voice like his father’s started to drown out the soft hush of voices that were commenting on his untimely demise. It was shouting its displeasure. It was as if Hux succumbing to death was some sort of correctable disposition rather than an unstoppable part of human nature._

_“FAILURE!” his father’s voice shrieked one last time before everything became silent._

_Hux could see nothing and could now hear nothing. A hush that reminded Hux of the forest clustered around him – suffocating him. Then a small voice spoke up – a hushed rough whisper._

_“Mine.”_

_Then there was light once again._

\---[ x ]---

Hux rocketed upwards in his bed, his covers folding backwards in haphazard disarray as he scrambled to his feet and ran through the darkened room to the bathroom to upend whatever he had consumed in the past few hours. As it seemed he had not consumed much as he found himself dry heaving for the most part. After emptying his stomach, Hux sat tentatively on the edge of his bed trying to stop the shaking that had overtaken his hands.

Breathe. Just breathe.

But nothing was helping. He could not fall back into his pattern of calm collectedness as easily as he used to be able to and that very thought just sent him panicking even more. It was as if someone had taken him apart and pieced him back together brutally. He lied back down on his bed as he pondered the bizarre burning sensation crawling up his chest and his body’s violent shaking. He compartmentalized each state of emotion and broke his panic down until it was forced into manageable pieces. The shaking in his hands slowly subsided as he slowly but surely fell back into his old rhythm. He was shaken, that much was clear, but what had caused this outburst of emotion he was not sure. He started trying to piece together the mosaic of thoughts that flashed across his vision.

Breakfast, Ben, new death, _his_ death, monster, _Kylo_ , blackness. Each thought came back to him in quick succession and he found himself cobbling together a thread of memories that explained his current emotional state. It was when he was finally able to recall yesterday’s events that Hux was able to uncover the reason behind the heavy sensation he felt in his lungs. Some part of him knew he had felt it yesterday too, but had been too preoccupied to notice it. He had hidden that observation away in his mind before he could fully examine it just as he done with many others and now it was presenting itself again – ready for examination and fighting his mental oppression.

He was not breathing.

There was no breath in his lungs to breathe. Hux closed his trembling eyelids and brought a shuddering hand up to touch his chest. No heartbeat. His chest was firm and very much so real, but he could feel no faint thumping that hinted to life. He attempted to take a shuddering breath, but the muscles in his chest caught around the lack of air and released sharply – once again affirming he was definitely not breathing.

 _This cannot be happening_ , his mind supplied, _this goes against all logic_.  But despite going against all logic, Hux could not argue with the solid facts presented to him. He suddenly felt the urge to be sick again and in the end he was. Hux found himself over the toilet bowl – clinging to the edges for dear life – dry heaving whatever liquid his esophagus could procure. He then decided to sit on the cool tiled floor of the washroom and stare at the grout lined porcelain rather than return to his warm bed.

While the floor was cold he soon came to realize that did not affect him either. Usually, he would start to shiver in such a cool place, but he did not even feel his skin flinch as he placed his bare legs on the pale white tiles that littered the bathroom floor. Hux figured this inability to feel the cold might be a benefit in disguise. One of his weaknesses revolved around his slight frame succumbing to unfavorable temperatures easily – warm or cool – so not being able to sense the temperature was kind of nice in a way. It would not help his attempts at matching up with humanity, but the idea of walking into a snowstorm in only shorts and tee just to baffle the masses would certainly be an entertaining sight.

That thought brought Hux’s train of thought to a complete halt. Would he still be able to be seen by humans? Had he passed on into the afterlife? Hux pondered that thought. His memories from the previous day had fully returned and the last thing he remembered was passing out in front of Kylo Ren after he had so adamantly stated Hux’s state of being (that state being dead). Hux knew this was the hotel room Mitaka had booked for his stay in this dreary town as Hux had stopped briefly in this room before his night of camping in the woods to uncover more about the man behind the murders.

A bitter smile touched Hux’s features. Now he knew who the murderer was, but would he be able to tell anyone? By Hux’s guess, he had died that night he spent in the woods. Despite what little he had seen of his own corpse, his detective’s eye had gleaned all the knowledge he needed to determine a rough estimate of the time of death. There had been moisture on his trench coat, hinting to the fact the body must have been outside during the midmorning mist that had dusted the forest before Hux and Ben had entered the woods to lament over Hux’s findings. This meant Hux had died before midmorning and the only time he had spent in the woods previously was during the evening he camped out there.

 _Ben_. What even was Ben? Or Kylo? He had claimed he was the king of the forest or something of that sort, if Hux’s memory served him right, but what _really_ was he? Hux scrubbed a hand up and down his face wishing, for once, that the odd man was here right now so Hux could properly question him and maybe have him explain what the hell was going on. The thought of Kylo prompted Hux to wonder if he was the reason why Hux ended up in Mitaka’s hotel room. The man must have carried Hux here and the very thought caused Hux to shiver.

Hux figured Kylo was still lurking about in the woods doing whatever it was demons of the forest did. He knew if he wanted answers out of the devious man Hux would have to pay the bleak forest a visit, but currently he felt no urge to chase after Kylo. Instead he sat on the floor and watched as the sunlight skirted around the edges of the worn curtains as it tried to escape the mottled fabric’s grip and stretch across the scuffed carpet towards the bathroom. It was something so simple and a few days ago he would have never examined such a thing, but Hux could only think of how he’d never feel the warmth of a sunbeam ever again and that startled him.

His eyes flitted about the room and his mind could only supply him with comments on what things he would forever miss out upon. He probably would never age, never feel pain, never feel the warmth of someone resting next to him, heck he’d probably never have a relationship again. His love life was anything but booming, but nevertheless the prospect of never being able to have a romantic relationship with another human being caused something to crack in Hux. Hell, now he could not even refer to himself as a _fellow_ human being.

He had been told on many occasions that he was not human. Usually this was attributed to him in a joking manor or a jab against his smarts or abnormal processes in solving cases and whenever the retort was used Hux had never cared. It was a petty thought. But now, now he realized the fact that he was actually not human and this caused a shard of pain to be buried into his heart. He looked human, sure, but he did not breathe anymore and he could not feel anymore. Hux’s eyes flickered downwards as they started to examine his body more thoroughly. He was still dressed in yesterday’s rather rumpled suit and trench coat and while wrinkles and folds would usually bug him, Hux found his eyes drawn more to his hands then the state of disarray his clothes were in.

Hux fixed his attention to his hands. Each crack in the skin, each vein, every callous, all were familiar and were scoured into his mind; unforgettable. His skin was still cracked and dry. He remembered Mitaka mentioning he should purchase some hand cream or something of the like to soothe the rough skin the plastered the back of his hands. At the time, Hux had ignored his statements. What was the point of skin cream? It’s not like people would thoroughly examine his hands. Funny how only a few days later here he was doing exactly what he said no one would.

He turned his hands over to examine the palms once again. His nails were rather beaten he realized; worn away with the frantic gnawing he imposed upon them when he sat thinking about his theories. He looked so real. He ran a finger along the cracks in his hands and found he could feel the ridges under the pads of his finger, but not even the slightest tickled could be felt on the palm of Hux’s hand. His finger trailed lower until it rested on the hollow of his wrist. Where there was once a flutter of a pulse, there now rested a hollow silence that seemed to haunt him.

Hux lost track of how long he spent huddled on the bathroom floor, but a key activating the door’s lock had him back on his feet once again. He did not know who to expect when the door opened, but he felt relief flood him when he was greeted by the sight of a rather rumpled Mitaka. The shorter man flipped on the lights and went about removing his black coat; turning his back to Hux as he did so. Mitaka did not immediately notice Hux until the ginger man opted to clear his throat softly to try to gain his friend’s attention. Hux waited with baited breath, not exactly sure what would happen. Would Mitaka hear him? Would he turn and see him? Or would he see and hear nothing?

Hux let out a strangled sound of relief when the shorter man almost jumped at the noise Hux had made to try to gain his attention. His relief was quickly crushed by fear as Mitaka swiftly turned and pointed his hidden gun to Hux’s head – a look of panic lacing his expression. Mitaka’s brown eyes calmed when he realized it was Hux whom he was threatening to shoot with his weapon and promptly slipped the gun back into coat pocket as if it was the most casual thing.

“Hux, you startled me there.” Mitaka said, his voice even despite the show of panic that had danced through his eyes only moments ago.

“Yes I noticed. I apologize.” Hux stated, falling in step behind his friend as the brown eyed man made his way to the small seating area the hotel room provided. Mitaka took a seat in one of the worn chairs and Hux follow suite; folding himself neatly into the high backed chair across from his co-worker.

“I would ask you how got inside my room while I was gone, but I assume you had your ways.” Mitaka stated before snatching a discarded water bottle off of the side table near his chair and taking a sip. Hux just chuckled in response, not wanting to speak knowing his attempts to smooth over how he arrived here would easily be pulled apart by Mitaka. Thankfully, Mitaka accepted Hux’s low laugh as a reasonable response and moved past it.

“Where were you yesterday? I saw you in the morning, but for the rest of the day I could not find you nor contact you. What the hell happened?” Mitaka asked. He did not meet Hux’s gaze, but rather fiddled with the cap of the plastic water bottle he was holding. The volatile green color of the lid contrasted so easily with the dark and drab room they were currently sitting in Hux could not help but wonder where Mitaka had found such a water bottle and if he had bought it for the express purpose that it clashed with the room.

“I am sorry I…I lost the walkie and got a bit…pre-occupied.”

Mitaka raised a skeptical eyebrow at Hux’s statements and just nodded – gesturing with his hand slightly as to say continue. Hux let out what would have been a sigh, but in reality was more like a grating whisper.

“I solved the case.”

That had Mitaka leaning forward intently, the bottle placed back on the side table and his elbows resting on his knees as he pulled forward – eyes intrigued and hopeful.

“You solved it? Really? You aren’t pulling my leg?”

Hux swallowed and nodded. Mitaka jumped up from the chair instantly; his left hand forming a fist as he punched the air excitedly.

“That’s our General Mythkiller!” Mitaka smacked Hux on the back as he went about his victory dance. Hux just kept his expression as neutral as he could, but the faintest smirks dusted his features at his friend’s outburst. Mitaka did this each time he cracked a particularly nasty case, but each time his antics never dulled in amusement value. Once Mitaka had stopped his fervent dancing and had settled back into the chair adjacent to Hux did Hux decide to speak again. He knew Mitaka was waiting on edge to know who the killer was.

“I’ve determined the killer is none other than Ben Solo.” Hux stated triumphantly. The light of joy behind Mitaka’s eyes dulled and his expression fell into one of confusion. Hux frowned at his reaction.

“What is it?” Hux asked worriedly.

“Ben Solo? Are you alright Hux?” Mitaka asked leaning forward to place a hand to Hux’s forehead. Hux recoiled from the touch annoyed at the pity he found in Mitaka’s voice.

“I am perfectly fine thank you for asking! What is this about? I told you who the killer is. I am positive it is Ben Solo!” Hux stated firmly, annoyance slipping into his voice as his words became sharp. Mitaka watched Hux pointedly then sighed when Hux met his gaze without flinching.

“Hux, Ben Solo has been missing for years.”

\---[ x ]---

“What the _hell_ are you?!” Hux snarled as he pushed Kylo against a rotting tree.

Kylo just smirked down at Hux as he pressed him to the tree by his black and feathered collar. From up close, Hux found Kylo’s usual garb absolutely ridiculous. Who wore only a cloak adorned with black feathers and a pair of black tights in this dank forest? Only insane creatures that’s who.

“I told you, I am the demon of this forest.” Kylo said, his smirk widening. Hux snarled and pulled away from Kylo to plop down on a nearby rock. He was mad. He had not been this mad in years and right now he felt the great urge to punch someone or something. But he repressed that urge like he usually did.

“Are you really Ben Solo or was that a ruse?” Hux asked through gritted teeth. “Did that whole day we spent together exist only in my own head? Have I truly gone mad? Because Mitaka seems to remember nothing of you and insists Ben Solo disappeared into the woods years ago.”

Kylo’s amused expression faltered in the slightest as he contemplated Hux’s words. He met Hux’s furious gaze calmly and let out the softest of sighs before hanging his head in defeat – the beads adorning his hair clacking slightly.

“Yes, I once was Ben Solo, but that person is gone and dead since I took up the mantle of the keeper of this forest. No, that day did not just exist in your head; it was Mitaka’s mind that I altered. Technically, Ben Solo disappeared into the woods years ago and never returned. Mitaka, being a police officer, would know of this missing person’s case so I had to…meddle with his thoughts slightly or else he would have never introduced me to you.”

Hux pressed a pale hand to his forehead and hissed out eloquent curses.

“A missing person’s case? Bloody of course. Knowledge I was not privy to would of course be the reason for my downfall. How wonderful.” Hux’s tone was one of bitterness and Kylo flinched slightly at the harsh words spewing out of his mouth.

“How is this your downfall?”

Hux’s sea green eyes could have cut marble with the sharpness that Kylo saw embedded in them.

“How is this my downfall? _How is this my downfall_?!” Hux laughed sharply and bitterly before shaking his head – loosening red strands from their usual manicured stiffness. “I am dead Kylo Ren! Dead! How is this _not_ my downfall! I cannot feel, I cannot breathe, I cannot fit in! I am a….a ghost.”

Hux’s voice cracked around the word ghost. It was as if the realization of what he truly was crash down on him in that very moment and buried in him a wave of emotion that even he could not supress. Hux did not need a mirror to know his face was probably crumpling into that state of tired shock and sadness that he had seen on so many relatives of murder victims. He buried his face in his hands immediately as to hide the unwarranted expression from Kylo; not wanting to show the beast a side of him that very few had seen.

Hux’s body tried to cry; it really did. But instead all he could muster were raspy noises and two small tears that trailed down his face – cutting wet lines across his skin. Hux barked out a laugh through his constricted throat and bared his teeth in frustration despite his probably dejected expression.

“I cannot even cry. How wonderful.” He mused bitterly. Hux could not help but laugh at this whole predicament. He never allowed himself to cry and now, when he desperately needed to, he could not. Even through his showing of weakness, Kylo remained where he was standing near the trees and kept his expression neutral and his mouth closed for once. He only admired Hux from afar, his eyes roving over Hux as he showed his displeasure at his new found state of being.

“You have no need to cry.” Kylo stated and Hux fixed him with a glare.

“Don’t tell me what I need and don’t need.” Hux hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. Kylo huffed out a sigh and stepped closer to Hux, coming to kneel before him.

“I don’t mean it like that. I mean you have no need to cry in the sense your body no longer feels the need to cry – it can no longer process that reaction. Just like your body no longer feels the need to eat as it cannot process hunger.” Kylo explained, his dark eyes colliding with Hux’s sea green ones.

“Oh great.” Hux mumbled to himself, running a hand over his face as if he could wipe away his distraught emotions. “Mind informing me what else I cannot do?”

Kylo tilted his head softly before nodding slightly. He continued to kneel before Hux as he talked; the action making Hux feel oddly comfortable.

“Well, in your new state you do not need sustenance in the form of food or liquids. Your body also does not process reactions to certain emotional states because in essence your body still believes itself to be dead. Due to this, your nerve endings are also not active so pain, among other things, is something you do not feel.” Kylo stated, his voice devoid of any emotion as he explained Hux’s new bodily state as if he was reading a factual article out of scholarly journal.

“So you mean to tell me my body assumes its dead?” Hux asked. “How is that even possible?”

Kylo hesitated to respond, his dark eyes roving up to meet Hux’s clear green ones. It was then Hux realized Kylo had taken one of his pale hands in his and was gently rubbing circles into his rough flesh. Hux was startled to find that Kylo’s movements over his skin could be felt. It was as if his nerve endings jumped to life only at Kylo’s touch.

“That’s where things get complicated. You see, you died that night in the woods. The night with that…dream.” Kylo spoke haltingly as if he found it hard to get the words out. “But the death you experienced was unnatural...that is to say you were not supposed to die that night.”

Hux scoffed.

“Obviously. Why did you kill me then? If you knew it was not my time to die.”

Kylo’s expression softened.

“I did not kill you. I brought you back.”

Hux watched Kylo, their eyes colliding as Hux tried to make sense of what Kylo had said. His mind was working a mile a minute but he found himself unable to come to terms with what Kylo had said.

“If you did not kill me then who did?” Hux asked in a voice barely above a whisper, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“That is where things get…complicated.” Kylo responded, breaking their eye contact to turn and look at the forest floor. The circles Kylo was pressing into Hux’s hand did not stop despite their break in eye contact.

“Do continue.” Hux’s voice was soft and lilting, almost breathless.

“Before I came to this forest, there was another who called it their kingdom. He was, if anything, a viler creature than a demon and he was the original cause of these deaths. He came to rest in this forest twenty years ago when a logging accident went awry leading to the deaths of a handful of men from this village. The hate the people felt towards the logging company was potent enough to form a forest demon using the souls of those dead men as a catalyst. This creature’s name was Snoke and at first he listened to the calls of the people and enacted the revenge they desired on the logging company’s leader.

“But soon the people of the village started to feel fear towards him as the accidental deaths built up. While all the people killed were higher ups in the hated logging company, the amount of them became too great for the people of the town and they started to fear the forest and, by extension, Snoke. Snoke was hurt by this, obviously, so he shut down the forest to the people. Anyone who entered would be killed. The only area he let people enter was that clearing because it was the resting spot of the men who passed during the incident.”

“It was at this time that I found Snoke. No one knew he existed in the forest, but there was always rumors of some evil demon that guarded the woods with cold dispassion. He found me after a…unfortunate argument with my mother and father. I wound up in the woods with the idea that death would be a lovely escape from my family problems and Snoke used this. Rather than kill me, he accepted me and allowed me to live and train in his bizarre ways beside him. He renamed me Kylo Ren and I became his new aide.”

“My time spent in the forest around Snoke’s dark magic warped me as you can probably tell.” Kylo stated, lifting a clawed hand up as if to prove his point. “And soon I realized Snoke was grooming me to be just like him. Apparently the hate I felt was an unlimited source of dark power and through Snoke I was able to unleash it. I…liked the power…it was a wonderful feeling to be in control of your actions and to have some otherworldly ability no one else had. Since I had always hated this town I found it easy to perform the killings Snoke desired of me and I soon became the sentinel of these woods.”

“My hatred was so strong that I did not even bat an eye when I was forced to kill my father…yes I was the one who killed him.” Kylo’s eyes met Hux’s, his eyes boasting of some sort of thinly veiled pain. Hux found himself squeezing that hand that now was clutching onto his for dear life. With a nod and a hard swallow Kylo continued. “I lived for many years in the woods, growing stronger and more warped as time went on. Seven years ago I discovered how Snoke had clouded my vision about things. I had power of my own, untapped power that was not explicitly linked to him and did not need to be cultivated by deaths of people, and that was when I rebelled against him. For two years we fought causing many causalities of forest folk and bizarre happenings to plague the surrounding areas. I also gained this scar on my face because of it. Snoke’s final blow.”

Kylo paused at this and swallowed hard before he could continue; it was as if the whole memory seemed to pain him slightly. “In the end I…beat him. I killed Snoke. That was the body found five years ago, the one mangled in the trees. It was beyond recognizable because I had to destroy it in such a way so that no one would see it for what it really was. With Snoke dead there was no more killings for five peaceful years, but then…”

“…then someone new died.” Hux stated, a wry smile quirking its way across his features.

“Yes, that man in the clearing and…you. This was all Snoke’s doing, I assure you. I know he is still alive, but as only a spirit. When I…killed him he must have detached his soul. He was powerful enough to do something of the sort and deep down I knew this, but I never thought he’d be crazy enough to try. The man who was found dead in the clearing, he had been possessed by Snoke and I tried to kill Snoke without harming the man, but as you can tell that failed…quite spectacularly evidently.”

“It was then I realized I could not touch his spirit form due to my status and this frustrated me greatly. I needed the help of a human as it seemed and I was very close to closing down the forest’s boarders again, just to protect people, but then I heard of you. That you had cracked many of these bizarre mysteries so I decided to wait until you arrived and would try to enlist your help. Snoke really had nowhere to go and he was trapped in that clearing so I did not really worry until that night when you died.”

“Thank goodness my knights found you or you would have surely passed on. As it seemed Snoke managed to kill you. He must have sensed my intentions and figured killing you was the best way to go about halting his inevitable death. I do not know how he managed to end your life, but all I know is that he did. Since it was an untimely death I was able to salvage your consciousness and I linked it to a new body…one that I, uh, made.” Kylo seemed awkward in stating that. The one hand that was not holding Hux’s reached up to rub the back of his ebony head in a display of awkwardness.

“You mean to say you…rebuilt my body?” Hux asked, both shocked and amazed.

“Y-yes, it isn’t that hard once you’ve done it, but it is a bit draining.” Kylo replied, a faint dusting of pink touching his cheeks. “Anyhow, that is why your body thinks it is dead. Your body truly did die, but your consciousness was extracted from your body before it fully faded away and rather than thinking you died you just assumed you had a rather fitful sleep. While you don’t believe you died, your subconscious knows that you did so certain base reactions and feelings don’t surface.”

Hux sat in silence as his eyes met with Kylo’s once again. They both stared at each for the longest time, neither of them moving or saying anything more. Kylo was waiting for Hux’s reaction, obviously, and Hux was trying to process everything that he had heard. This was all so baffling and all so insanely against the logic he had come to understand; it was as if overnight the world had changed into a place where ghosts existed and demons slipped between trees.

“Why did you not tell me this yesterday?” Hux’s voice was a hoarse whisper as his gaze dropped to the myriad of leaves beneath his feet, he still continued to clutch Kylo’s hand – not wanting to lose the warmth he felt. He pondered why he could feel warmth from Kylo; he pondered why Kylo could make him feel.

“Because you would have never believed me. You were coming to grips with your own death. You needed to overcome the shock first and be in a more solid mental state.”

Hux chuckled slightly.

“And I am in a more solid mental state now?” His eyes turned upwards to meet with Kylo’s, a smirk edging its way across Hux’s face. Kylo blessed Hux with a rare and genuine smile.

“Well you did not pass out so I would say yes, this is a more solid mental state.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence that stretched between them for a few minutes before Hux decided to speak once again.

“Why? Why did you bring me back?” He asked, eyes roving over Kylo’s face to study his reaction. Kylo let out a long breath before he decided to respond.

“Because I still need your help to finish off Snoke. I…I cannot do it alone. Despite this not being the way I planned to ask for your assistance, I still do need it.” Kylo replied.

“Is that the only reason?” Hux queried, sensing the hidden truth lurking behind Kylo’s words. Kylo searched Hux’s expression again before continuing.

“I need you. You were supposed to be—are mine.” Kylo stated. Hux’s eyes flashed dangerously at the comment and Kylo noticed.

“I belong to no one.” Hux retorted, stiffening slightly as the insinuation that he belonged to anyone. Kylo smirked slightly and pulled closer into Hux’s personal space before he continued speaking.

“Don’t you feel it too? The connection?” Kylo asked, running a rather gentle clawed fingered over Hux’s knuckles as it to extenuate the point that Hux’s nerve endings actually leaped to life under Kylo’s touch. Hux shivered at the touch despite himself and Kylo’s smirk widened into something deadly; something possessive. “In another life, one that Snoke closed the doors to when he killed you, you were mine and I was yours. I made you feel things no one else could and you, in fact, belonged to me.”

Kylo’s words came out in the barest of whispers and were steeped in promise. His breath scuttled across Hux’s skin and danced along his lips. They were close, so close Hux only needed to tilt forward slightly and their lips would be touching. Some part of Hux knew Kylo was speaking the truth, somewhere deep down he knew in another setting devoid of monsters and death their lives would have intertwined and their relationship would have turned to something deeper. Hux knew he found Kylo attractive and something deep in his core pulled him towards the tall and mysterious being who seemed to haunt him.

“Fuck you.” Hux hissed before the words were crushed under Kylo’s lips. They both had the exact same thought at the exact same time and they came pulling forward towards each other like they were caught in each other’s gravity. Hux felt his whole body light up at the contact and the touch. Kylo’s hands were immediately roving over Hux, touching the tattoo Kylo had made on his neck and moving down his chest and over his sides. Hux found his hands in Kylo’s hair before he even realized what he was doing. Then it ended and Hux heard himself moan slightly at the lack of Kylo’s lips on his – the loss of the sparks that danced along his spine.

“So will you help me stop Snoke?” Kylo asked, his lips pulling into a smile.

“Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This became really long really fast whoops.
> 
> Anyhow next chapter is the fun chapter if you know what I mean. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡⊙ ͜ʖ ͡⊙) ( ͡◉ ͜ʖ ͡◉)
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://theriseofthefirstorder.tumblr.com/) if you really want.


End file.
